Be vigilant to avoid drug trap, DGDSC tells parents

By Kaushalendra Singh — SALALAH: Jan. 9 – Drug menace is keeping the officials of the Directorate General of Combating Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (DGDSC) on their toes as the perpetrators are using all types of tricks to get away and target the most vulnerable section of the society — the youth — in their trap. Keeping this in mind the (DGDSC) has a dedicated team to create awareness and take up the cause of combating drugs and psychotropic substances very seriously following reports of rise in number of teenagers and youngsters coming under the grip of drug menace.
“We keep on engaging with college and school students and encourage them to organise drawing and other campaigns focusing the topic. We also seek parents’ participation and ask them to discuss the issue with their children so that they are aware of the problem before getting into any trap,” said a DGDSC official.
“Because those involved in this nefarious trade spare no effort to weaken the youth through drugs and psychotropic substances. Statistics and scientific studies indicate that the number of drug addicts is on the rise especially among teenagers and youngsters,” he said.
Besides keeping a vigil on all sorts of nefarious activities and dealing sternly with those who are involved in the dirty practice, the DGDSC has decided to take the awareness campaign against the menace to a higher level by adding more awareness buses to raise general awareness against use of drugs. Thus there would be more buses involved in the drive. The first awareness bus was flagged off on June 6, 2006 marking the International Drug Awareness Day while one more was added on a later stage.
The DGDSC has a dedicated cell which encourages people to interact with the directorate for any drugs related information either through toll free hotline number 1444 or via email on dgdsc@rop.gov.om.
A police officer and in-charge of the awareness campaign called for engagement with the community to prevent people’s access to such materials as he cited the vision of the DGDSC, which states that “It is always better to have some preventive measures to avoid a problem. This is problem which not only affects an individual but also a family and society as well. We are always ready to explain people about the menace and explain how to avoid the trap used by the drug dealers.”
The idea is to have more interaction with the community to let them know about the problem and spread the message of ‘a happy life without drugs’. It is aimed at telling the families to keep an eye on their children so that they do not fall prey to drug dealers, he said.
The DGDSC has buses equipped with posters, drug samples and some exhibits explaining the modus operandai of the drug dealers. The buses keep on moving in all parts of the Sultanate to raise awareness. The authorities are planning to introduce more such buses to reach out to more and more people with a message of “let us work together to fight narcotics.”
The buses showcase the bad impacts of drugs on an individual, family and society. It also explains the methodology of drug dealers and various ways of hiding while travelling. “There are people who cut shoe soles and put the drugs, while there are others who bring them as medicines, toys or get some surgeries done in their body to transport the drugs,” he said.
Thus the job of the policemen deployed at the ports and airports becomes very challenging in ensuring that no narcotic substance comes into the country. The suggestion to carry doctor’s prescription while bringing medicines from outside is also aimed at checking the elements that use this route to smuggle drugs into the country.